“There are bipartisan bills in both the Senate and House of Representatives that would provide back pay to compensate federal contractor employees for their lost wages,” the lawmakers wrote. “As supporters of these efforts, we strongly urge you to include back pay for federal contractor employees in any supplemental appropriations bill for fiscal year (FY)2019 or as part of the regular appropriations process for FY2020.”

A spokesman for Lowey said chairwoman is in favor of the bills, but they do not fall under the purview of the Appropriations Committee.

Unlike federal employees, who were compensated for their missed work after the record-long shutdown ended, contracting companies that didn't provide services during the shutdown were not compensated, leaving a 35-day hole in the paychecks of thousands of low-wage contractors.

Proponents of back pay for contractors failed in their earlier attempts to include a provision in the spending legislation that ended the shutdown.